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begii 
thai 
sion, 
othe 
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sion, 
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shall 
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whic 

Map 
diffe 
entir 
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righl 
requ 
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I 

J 


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naga 


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method: 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernldre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  'A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

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fiim6s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff6rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  i  partir 
de  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcesitaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m6thode. 


rata 


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1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

^m 


THI  DlTROIT 


COMMHRCUL  Convention 


OF  1865, 


"™™'^"" 


II  K^mimmmifmn 


V*  - 


^^^m 


S^^^P^SSt^j^^S^^mS^^^^S^SS^^^^^^^St^A    ■  .-■■-/ty?W.J^^S'S'*^i*.^-i?-^i^isTi^f^'i''*AS--.^^^ 


WB^^^^mmM 


THE    DETROIT 


COMMERCIAL      CONVENTION 


O  F    1865 


AN 


ADDRESS 


BY 


HAMILTON    ANDREWS    HILL 


DETROIT  JUNE  IG   1880 


BOSTON 

GEO  E  CROSBY   &   CO   PRINTERS  383   WASHINGTON   STREET 

1886 


ADDRESS. 


Mb.  PREaiDiNT  AND  Gestlemen  ■ 

I  have  „o  offlcial  report  to  present  at  this  ti»e  .„  the  Executive 
Councl  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  farther  than  to  ,  !  tta 

rz  h7 :'  "^ "°""'  '^"•' "'" "'  Washington  r.i 

lli         have  been  printed  and  widely  eircuiated.     With  your 
pern„ss,„„,  however,  I  wii,  occupy  a  few  moments  with  Ttu 

~:r' ::: "' '"-'"''  "^"^ '"« ^^ "■  c:  1.7 

yea«  ago,  wh.ch,  with  many  of  „,,  e„„es  vividly  to  mind    as 

■  ene ':«;rr  ,'r  ^''•"  "^  *'  »"*»-  -^""o-  "^  * 

S  tio'  "s   °,  ••  ""'  '""  "■'"^''  ="-"«  *^  -«-l 

.sstrbTed  "  -«--«»-  it  is  our  honor  today  to  be 

The  Detroit  Convention  of  1865  marks  an  epoch  in  the  commer 

:  h'euT  T'  '"'""''■ "  ™'  '"■' «-  ^-'  -^rx 

and  held  for  hns.ncs,  purposes,  and  controlled  by  men  delegated 
by  the  leadmg  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commer  e     Tw 
popular  conventions  had  previously  met  in  Chicago,  to  Isle 
hIo    cT  T"""  °'  '"''"'"  ™P— n.s,-the  Kiver  and 

lZ:r  ""■"  ~"'""'"'  "J-  P""""  """n  «■"'  politicians 

th  r  arlrV"  '"*  '''°^""*"="'  ''  "-'"-  -"-  "     ■ 

and  unde    th  "•    ^"^  "'""■"^  °'  '««'  ""  ""--"  "3- 

,  ""  °"'P'°'»  <"  "■«  Detroit  Boart  of  Trade  and  the 

..e  ma  ority  of  those  who  attended  it  were  member   o       nd  ^ 

eTpect  dTol     "r    ""  "'"""'  ''"'™'»  -'"-".  »»^  "-" 
expected  to  keep  other  considerations  for  the  time  in  abeyance 


About  five  bundled  delcirates  wpro  in  ow      i 
4.       ...  '^'tfewies  were  m  attendance,  reDresentin-r 

twenty  o,,„t  «„„.„  „,  ■,„„„,  ,,,„„,„^,„,  „,  (.„„„„„'„„„  ;  :^ 

77"  ""  »:«--"«»-  in  .l,e  Unued  State.,  „„,,  „,toe„  i„  l>nZ 
North  Americ.  To  a  ,.,.,t.i„  extent,  tfe  „oea„„„  „.,  .„  ^ 
na  .o,,„,  one,  it  „„„  Won  intended  to  „e  so  in  the  oHgina,  p. 

,:<;:: "" ", t °' '"- ^-^  °^ ""™"""- -^ ««"'-e„  : 

of  the  debates,  was  concerned.  I)„t  the  hesitancy  of  these  gentle- 
men  to  accept  otaee  in  the  „^„ni.ati„n  of  the  eonventior  d 
thor  ahsolute  refnsal  to  vote,  placed  then,  in  the  position  of  .nest, 
rather  than  n,en,bers,  and  ™de   the  convent.™   national!    „d 

naZT'  Z  T  ""^  ""'"'"  ""  "'  *"'  "-"•  ■■■"'»  «-  ■>-" 
nahonnl,  and  American,  in  its  broader  significance. 

Jt  wUl  be  interesting  to  recall  the  names  of  some  of  the  dele- 
g^a^s.     From  the  State  of  New  York,  there  were  present,  ntl 
Walbrtdge,  ,ra™es  S.  T.  Stranahan,  W.  K.  Strong,  L,  .1.  N  Stark 
.nd  Edward  Hineken.  of  New  York;  DeWitt  C   Littlej!hn,  an d     ' 
Henry  l,t.hngh,  of  Oswego;  Oavid  L.  Seymour,  and  Mar  i, 
Townsend,  of  Trov  •  John  V   T    v>  ,,  ^^"nui  i. 

Albany ;  Israel  P.  Hatch,  P.  S  Marsh    ^   <i  n  .u  -     r^ 

IT         ,        ,  >  -"^  •  o.  itiarsn,  ts.  b.  Guthrie,  Georffe  S 

Sam       P  *';;™*'/-^-»^  ^■■'"»^.  John  Welsh,  A.  G.  Catte.l 
Samuel  E.  Stokes,  Geo,«e  L.  Buzby,  Joseph  S.  Perot,  and  C  J 

H^maj.  o,  Philadelphia;  audGeorgeH.Thurs.on,ofktsb'rgh 
Jror.    Massachusetts,    James   C.  Converse,   Joseph    S.  Kope. 

Ham,  ton  A.  H,ll,  of  Boston.    From  Maine,  T.  C.  Hersev  A   K 

—  n,,.,.ir:':/cS:„d:r.r:v:yio: 

Wa,te,  Den,so„  B.  Smith,  and  M.  D.  Carrington,  of  Toledo 
from  M,ch,gan,  Joseph  Aspinwall,  Henry  P.  Bridge  Jame^F 
Joy,  Duncan  Stewart,  Franklin  M«,re,  and  Richard  Hawlev,  of 


Detroit.     From  Illinoia,  Charles  Walker,  John  V,  Farwell,:\V.  F. 
Cnolliaiifrli,   B.  F.   Culver,   Mnrry  Nelson,  J.  C.   Dore,   Charles 
Kandolph,  IJngh  McLennnn,  N.  K.  Fairbank,  and  J.  Young  Scam- 
mon,  of  Chicago;    William   H.   Green,  and  William   Barker,  of 
Cairo.     From  Wisconsin,  William  Yonng,  William  P.  McLaren, 
and  John  Johnston,  of  Milwaukee.     From  Missouri,  Barton  Able, 
J.  O,  Broadiiead,  Nathan  Cole,  Samuel  Treat,  Samuel  Plant,  and 
J.  H.  Alexander.     Among  the  distinguished  Canadians  present, 
were  Joseph  Howe,  IMalcolm  Cameron,  Hugh  Allan,  Thomas  Ryan. 
C.  J.  Brydges,  Peter  Redpath,  and  Isaac  Bu  Jmnan.     Hiram  Wal- 
l>n<lge,  of  New  York,   a  large-hearted,  patriotic,  public-spirited 
merchant,  was  chosen  president,  and  Ray  Haddock,  of  Detroit, 
and  William  Lacy,  of  Albany,  were  secretaries. 

The  civil  war  was  just  over.     The  process  of  disbanding  the 
regiments  which  had  constituted  the  great  army  of  the  North  was 
still  in   progress.     The  work  of  political,  fiscal  and  commercial 
reconstruction  was  about  to  begin.     Abraham  Lincoln  had  been 
murdered  only  three  months  before  ;  and  the  railroad  directors'  car 
in  which  some  of  us  rode  to  Ann  Arbor,  in  acceptance  of  an  invi- 
tation from  the  University  there,  still  bore  the  emblems  of  mourn- 
lug  with  which  it  was  dressed  when  it  took  its  place  in  the  loner 
funeral    procession    from    AVashington    to    Springfield,     Illinoi.^ 
AV  hether  or  not  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Detroit  sent  invitations  to 
the  commercial  organizations  of  the  South,  I  do  not  know;  cer- 
tainly none  of  them   were  represented  in  the  convention.     The 
struggle  was  too  recent,  the  wounds  on  both  sides  were  too  fresh, 
for  those  who,  during  four  years,  had  been  in  deadly  conflict,  to 
come  together  in  a  spirit  of  conciliation  and  mutual  respect,  and 
by  then-  reunited  energies,  as  Whiltier  wrote,   to  -  harvest  the 
fields  where  once  they  fought." 

"It  is  believed,"  said  the  call,  "that  this  is  eminently  a 
proper  time  for  the  business  men  of  this  country,  through  their 
several  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commerce,  to  meet 
in   councl,  to   discuss  matters  of  Finance   and  Commerce,  and 


0 


Jfnrs  Klvc  to  the  ru'(,,.Ie  at  large  the  life-long  experience  of  men 
devote,!  to  eommereial  n(rairH.     Such  ,li«c„sHion  cannot  produce 
evil,  and  ,imy  result  in  material  good."     As  already  intin.ated, 
n  national  convention   bo  constituted   was  son.ething  new  iu  the 
history  of  the  country ;  even  to  the  business  men  themselves,  it 
was  an   experiment.     The  qualified   remark  of  the  Detroit  Hoard 
was  all   that  many  of  them  wouhl    have  l,een  willing  to   commit 
themselves  to.     -  Such  .liscussion  cannot  produce  evil,  and  may 
result  in  material  good."     Some  members  of  the  Government   at 
Wnshingtou,  however,  and  many  politicians,  would   not  admit  as 
much  as  this?    they   thought  that  the  discussion  of  questions  of 
national  commercial  policy  by  the  business  men  of  the  country 
would  -  produce  evil,"  and  they  would  have  prevented  the  meeting 
had  it  been  in  their  power  to  do  so.     And  when  the  Convention 
was  in  session,  and  while  the  debate  on  recij,rocal  trade  with 
Canada  was  in  progress,  IlAnnibal  Hamlin,  late  Vice  President  of 
the  United  States,  took  pains  tc  say  ;  -  I  do  not  believe  it  is  wise 
thflt  this  body  should  assume  to  itself  the  duties  that  belong  to  the 
Executive  of  this  country.     I  do  not  think  that  it  reflects  credit 
upon  the  high  character  of  the  morcantile  associations  met  here, 
to  do  it.     I  can  call  to  my  mind  no  instance  iu  the  history  of  my 
country  when  any  body  of  men   have  undertaken  to  advise  the 
Chief   Magistrate  of  this  country  in   reference  to  his  executive 
acts."     It  might  have  been  answered  to  this,  that  the  question 
then  under  consideration  was  not  strictly  an  executive  one,  for 
Congress  had  taken  it  into  its  own  hands,  had  voted  in  favor  of 
terminating  the  treaty  of  1854  at  the  earliest  practicable  time,  and 
one  of  its  committees  had  been  in  conference  with  Canadian  dele- 
gales  who  were   authorized  to  ask  for  the  negotiation  of  a  new 
treaty.     But  Mr.  Hamlin  was  replied  to  more  broadly  than  this 
Mr.  Hersey,  of  Portland,  said:  "  I  am  a  plain,  simple  business 
man,  and  don't  pretend  to  know  much  about  conventions  and  their 
r,ght8,-we   brought   no   lawyers   from   Portland    to    plead    our 
cause,-but  as  merchants,  we  believe  that  we  have  a  right  to  be 


I.ean1  and  to  mnko  our  wnntH  known  to  tho  r.overnmont."     And 
Mr.  Joy,  „f  Detroit,  exprc8He<l  l.i.nsolf  more  (Mnphaticully :  -  n„t 
to  npimMu-l.  the  Executive,  an.l  to  su^.^est  a  policy  to  it,  is  ,„ost 
extruortlinary,    huvh   the   Kcntleman   from   Maine!    Ah,    in.lo.cP 
what  i«  the  Kxen.tive  of  thin  Kop„|,|io?     Is  he  the  nm«ter  of  the 
people,  8o  high  that  he  may  not  he  approached  l.y  them,  that  it  is 
sacrilege  to  look  him  in  the  face  and  proffer  an  hnmhle  request  or 
petition?    Are  these  the  notions  that  gentleman  has  iml,il,e.l  by  or 
from  the  high  positions  he  has  occupied?     Or,  is  the  Kxecntive  of 
tins  co,n,try  but  the  servant  of  the  people,  appointed  to  execute  its 
wdl,  as  >ts  name  indicates?  Sir,  in  this  country,  there  is  no  Sover- 
eign  but  the  people,  and  all  who  are  placed  in  olQce  by  them,  from 
the  Chief  Magistrate  down,  are  bnt  their  servants,  and   there  are 
none  so  humble  in  all  this  broad  land  that  they  may  not  approach 
boldly  the  highest  of.lcial,  and  respectfully  prolfcr  their  petitions. 
Ihe  right  of  petition  in  this  country  is  a  sacred  right." 

Mr.  Hnmlin  was  not  the  first  public  man  to  call  business  men  to 
account  for  undertaking  to  deal  with  matters  of  governmental  pol- 
icy.    Lord  George  Germain,  in  a  si,eech  in  the  British  Parliament 
'"  1 '  '4,  m  support  of  the  measures  introduced  by  Lord  North  for 
be  punishment  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  spoke  as  follows: 
Nor  can  I  think  he  will  do  a  better  thing  than  to  put  an  end  to 
their  town-meetings.     I  would  not  have  men  of  a  mercantile  cast 
every  day  collecting  themselves  together  and  debating  about  polit- 
•cal  matters.     I  would  have  them  follow  their  occupations  as  mer- 
chants,^and  not  consider  themselves  as  ministers  of  that  countrv. 
Ihe  whole   are   the  proceedings  of  a  tumultuous  and 
notous  rabble,  who  ought,  if  they  had  the  least  prudence,  to  fol- 
ow  their  mercantile  employments,  and  not  trouble  themselves  with 
politics  and  government  which  they  do  not  understand."     At  the 
cbse  of  this  remarkable  speech.  Lord  North  rose  and  said:  "j 
tbank  the  noble  lord  for  every  proposition  he  has  held  out.     They 
are  worthy  of  a  great  mind,  and  such  as  ought  to  be  adopted." 
rUo  object  for  which  the  Detroit  Convention  was  called,  was 


8 


the  consideration  of  "  Commerce,  Finnnce,  Communications  of 
Transit  from  the  W^est  to  the  Seaboard,  lleciprccal  Trade  between 
tlie  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces,  and  such  other  busi- 
ness as  may  come  before  the  Convention,  not  of  a  purely'  local  or 
political  character."  Tiie  chief  interest  centered  in  the  delates 
on  the  multiji'llcation  of  transportation  facilities,  and  the  renewal 
of  reciprocal  trade  relations  with  Canada,  lieferriug  to  the  former, 
it  is  interesting  to  notice  how  much  stress  was  laid  in  all  the  dis- 
cussions, upon  the  necessity'  which  existed  for  the  enlargement 
and  multiplication  of  canals,  and  how  little  was  said  about  the 
transportation  of  the  products  of  the  country  by  rail.  A  very 
large  majority  of  the  delegates  voted  for  a  resolution  asking  from 
the  General  Government  the  immediate  construction  of  a  ship- 
canal,  round  the  Falls  of  Niagara ;  and  the  enlargement  of  the 
Erie  Canal  was  most  earnestly  urged  upon  the  State  of  New 
York.  It  is  difficult  ror  us  today  to  realize  how  imperfect  were  the 
means  then  furnished  by  the  raih'oad  corupanies  for  the  convey- 
ance of  freight.  Speaking  for  Boston,  the  city  from  which  I  come, 
our  raih-oad  to  Albany  w-^s  only  partially  do'  "  le  tracked  in  I860, 
the  bridge  across  the  Hudson  at  Albany  was  not  completed  until 
that  year,  and  our  tracks  did  not  reach  the  steamship  wharves 
until  two  or  three  years  later.  Other  seaboard  cities  were  not 
quite  so  badly  off,  but  none  of  them  possessed  such  connections 
and  terminal  accommo^lations  as  the}'  now  enjoy. 

The  truth  is,  the  members  of  that  Convention  had  no  conception 
of  the  marvelous  railroad  development  which  was  to  come  in  the 
near  future.  Tlie  railroiid  mileage  of  the  United  States,  at  tl  e 
close  of  18G4,  was  33,908,  of  which  only  738  miles  nad  been  com- 
pleted in  that  year.  Who  among  us  then,  could  have  foreseen 
that  in  one  year,  1882,  11,568  miles  would  be  completed,— more 
than  the  totrd  mileage  in  1851,— and  that  at  the  close  of  1884. 
there  would  be  125,379  miles  of  railroad  in  operation  in  the 
United  States?  And  who  could  then  have  foreseen,  that  in  1884, 
390,074,749  tons  of  freight  woull  be  carried  by  the  railroatis  of 


9 


the  United  States,  at  an  average  charge  of  a  cent  and  one-eighth 
(1.124)  a  ton  a  mile? 

The  second  question  of  paramount  interest  at  the  meeting  in 
1865,  was   that   of  the   continuance  of  reciprocal  trade  relations 
with  Canada.     Notice  b--^  been  given  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  for  the  termination  of  the  arrangement  of  1854, 
and  our  business  men  generally  desired  the  negotiation  of  a  new 
treatyi.     Almost  the  only  opposition  to  such  a  treaty  in  the  Con- 
vention came   from  tlie  lumber  interests  of  Maine,  but  so  over- 
whelming was  the  opinion  on  the  other  side,  that  the  representa- 
tives of  those  interests  were  silenced  if  not  conviuced,  and  the 
final  vote  was  unanimous  as  well  as  most  enthusiastic.     It  should 
be  added,  that  the   absolute  unanimity  reached  at  the  last  stage 
in   the  proceedings,  was  m  consequence  of  the  conciliatory  spirit 
mrnifested  by  the  delegates  from  Pennsylvania,  and  particularly 
the   remarks   of  Mr.   Frale3',   and  his  recommendation   that  the 
proposed  treaty  should  not  only  be  "  just  and  equitable  to  all  par- 
ties  "  in  its   provisions,  but  that  it  should   be   negotiated  "  with 
reference  to  the  present  financial  condition  of  the  United  States." 
In  the  paper  which  I  had  the  honor  to  present  at  the  meeting 
of  the  Council  in  Chicago  a  year  ago,  the  policy  of  our  Govern- 
ment with  reference  to  Canadian  Reciprocity,  and  the  results  of 
that  policy,  were  considered  at  some  length,  and  I  will  not  advert 
to  them  again  ;  but,  perhaps,  I  may  be  excused  for  a  personal  rem- 
iniscence.     In   the   spring  of  1867,  I  was   crossing  the  Enaligh 
Channel  from  New  Haven  to  Dieppe,  and  on  the  passage  made%he 
acquaintance  of  .  gentleman  who  proved  to  be  the  British  Consul 
at   Chicago    (Mr.    Wilkins).      In   the  evening,  at   the   hotel   in 


10 

Weppe,  our  conversation  turned  upon  the  Detroit  C„„ve„tiou   and 

--  to  Bar,  ...„,  oatriu:::  otrrtraraiT 

expressing  the  opin.ou  that  it  had  assumed,  both  in  the  British 
"J..  Ameriean  press,  an  importance  to  which  it  was  not  cum! 
Nafoual  feeling  „n  the  subject  of  reeiprocit,,  the  co-  s„  tl th  ' 
~s  not  correct,,  rejected  b,  the  Det.it  .esoiutions.  I  pp  fe<i 
o  have  ,n  „,-  bag  a  copy  of  a  p.n,phlet  which  I  had  wr  tTn  at 
ah  nt  the  same  time,  for  the  purpose  of  interesting  the  Z"  „ 
and  manufacturers  nf  fl.o  v     <-  •     .,  "Ji-itQanis 

in»s  •'  and  inT  '"    ""  «»"'•«'"'<"■  ""d  >ts  proceed- 

V,    „nd,„thatqua,„toldtow„,so  far  away  and  so  different 
f.om  the  scene  of  action  in  the  United  States,  we  exchangedTo 
uments  with  each  other.  uiangea  doc- 

In  .865,  the  national  debt  >;hich  overhung  the  national  prosperity 
he  a  pall,  amounted  to  three  thousand  million  dollars.    ThcHou 

from    he  Commutee  on  Finance,  in  which  it  was  said:  "  Everv 
la'r   'f°'r  °d  T'  '"''  '""  "^'  '"''"'  "-""*  «■"'  ever 

th     '.be    ,  r"  '""'  Of  the  American  people,  who  doubts 

th  at  t„e  statesn,an  or  party  who  breathes  the  word  Repudiation 
w.ll  he  mdignantly  repudiated  and  condemned  by  the  people  of  the 
country...    Oue  of  the  resolutions  which  accom'panied  .!. e  r^p! 
and  were  unanimously  adopted,  was  as  follows : 

'■That,  regarding  such  national  debt  as  a  pecuniary  obligation. 

1  ,    .   7  ""  "'  ""'■'■''"^  "■"'"'  «""  ""J-  "'  "«--^3-  to 

mamtam  the  national  credit  unimpaired,  at  all  times  and  nndei  all 

circumstances,  and  that  every  dollar  of  such  debt,  principal  .and 


.  .erl'TSelLt  .7;;.*SS;  C'*'""  '"  "^'  """"■  "■'  ""P^^^^e^^^^^^n 


11 

interest    cn„  and  „„,  be  discharged     „.l,o„.  re.ardtag,  i„  fte 
slightest  degree,  the  „„„.„,  progress  „,  the  nation  in  its  eareer  of 

procpenty,  greatness  and  glory." 

The  most  prominent,  and  perhaps  valuable,  result  which  came 
from  the  Detroit  Convention  of  1865,  was  one  thac  was  hardly 
thought  of  by  most  of  the  delegates  when  they  came  together.     It 
was  demonstrated  that  the  business  men  of   the   country  could 
organise  effectively,  and  deliberate  and  act  intelligently  and  har- 
nion,ously,  with  reference  to  great  questions  like  transportation, 
finance,  and  the  extension  of  trade,  and  it  was  seen  to  be  exceed- 
ingly  important  that  some  plan  should  be  devised  for  their  meeting 
at  stated  intervals  and  in  a  representative  capacity,  to  define  and 
concentrate  public  opinion  upon  such  questions,  and  to  bring  that 
pubhc  opinion  to  bear  upon  Congress  and  the  National  Executive. 
Ihe  Boston  Board  of  Trade  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  prepar- 
•ng  a  plan,  and  of  submitting  it  to  the  various  Boards  of  Trade 
and  Chambers  of  Commerce,  for  their  consideration.     It  was  also 
aut  ;onzed  to  take  all  necessary  steps  for  the  organisation  of  a 
Nat,onal  Chamber  of  Commerce,  as  it  was  then  proposed  to  call 
It;  and,  as  one  step  in  this  direction,  the  Boston  Commercial  Con- 
vent.on  was  called,  and  was  held  in  February,  1868.     The  Phila- 
delphia  Convention  followed  in  June  of  the  same  year,  and  the 
National  Board  of  Trade  was  then  brought  into  existence 

But  the  Detroit  Convention  not  only  declared  itself  in  favor  of 
a  Nafonal  Chamber  of  Commerce  or  Board  of  Trade ;  it  also 
expressed  the  opinion  that  there  ought  to  be  a  department  of 
tl.e  national  government,  answering  more  or  less  to  the  Board  of 
Trade  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  Ministry  of  Commerce  in  several 
of  the  countr.es  of  Continental  Europe.  It  adopted,  unanimously, 
the  following  resolutions : 

"  That  in  order  to  relieve  some  of  the  Departments  of  the  Gen- 
eral  Government,  and  especially  the  Treasury,  from  many  of  the 


V 


12 

details  with  which  they  are  now  crowded,  and  in  order  to  secure 
for  the  various  industrial  interests  of  the  country  the  benefits  of  a 
systematim],  experienced  and  permanent  Board,  it  is  the  judc.- 
ment  of  this  convention  that  a  Government  Board  of  Trade  shouFd 
be  formed,  for  the  espepiul  oversight  and  care  of  all  questions 
relating  to  our  agricultural,  manufacturing-  and  commercial  inter- 
ests,  for  the  compilation  of  statistics,  for  inquiry  into  casualties, 
and  for  such  other  objects  as  may  properly  be  included  in  such  a 
department. 

"That  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston  be 
requested  to  prepare  and  present,  in  behalf  of  this  convention,  a 
memorial  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  asking,  in  view  of 
the  numense  industrial  and  mercantile  interests  involved,  its  early 
consideration  of,  and  action  upon,  the  subject." 

The  National  Board  of  Trade  has  urged  the  establishment  of 
such  a  department  as  was  re'commended  in  this  cily  in  1865,  upon 
Congress  and  the  General  Government,  almost  every  year  since  it 
came  into  beinor. 


Our  retrospect  today  would  be  incomplete,  if  we  failed  to  make 
mention  of  our  friends-how  large  the  number-who  were  our 
fellow  members  in  the  Detroit  Convention,  and  who  have  passed 
on  before  us  "to  the  land  of  tne  great  Departed,  into  the  Silent 
Land."     We  might  name  them  one  by  one,  and  recall  what  was 
accomplished  by  each  in  his  own  Board  of  Trade  or  Chamber  of 
Commerce,   in    his   own    community,   and   in   tiie   country.     The 
record  would  be  an  honorable  and  an  inspiring  one.     Two  have 
d.ed  since  the  annual   meeting  in  January,   who  assisted  at  the 
formation  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade  in  1868,  and  took  part 
in  Its  earlier  proceedings,  and  to  whom  it  will  be  proper  to  refer 
particularly.     Theophilus  C.  Ilersey,  of  Portland,  was  a  modest, 
quiet,  self-possessed,  intelligent  man,  and  a  leader  in  the  c^-oup 
ot  enterprising  and  far-seeing  merchants,  who,  by  their  indomita- 
ble energy  and  will,  did  much  for  fie  beautiful  city  by  the  sea  of 


13 

which  they  were  so  proud,  and  which  is  so  proud  of  them.  '  John 
Welsh,  of  Philadelphia,  stood  among  the  foremost,  in  a  city  where 
distinguished  men  in  all  the  professions  abound,  and  added  dignity 
and  lustre  to  his  calling,  as  a  merchant,  by  his  broad  culture,  his 
generous  sympathies  and  his  public  spirit.     His  appointment  a, 
ambassador  to  the  Court  of  St.  James  was  more  than  a  compli- 
ment  to  him  personally;  it  was  an  honor  to  his  profession,  and  a 
credrt  to  his  country.     Wheaton  says  of  the  art  of  negotiation,  in 
h.s  Elements  of  International  Law:  '^t  depends  essentially  on 
personal  character  and  qualities,  united  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
world  and  experience  in  business."    Mr.  Welsh's  qualifications  for 
the  h,gh  mission  entrusted  to  him  could  hardly  have  been  more 
exactly  stated,  and  they  became  only  the  more  conspicuous  during 

his  official  residence  in  Euffland      H!a  f.ii^       -.•  ^ 

»hin«..pn,         •         '"/""Siand.     His  fellow-citizens  of  Philadel- 
phia aie  proposing  to  place  a  statue  in  their  public  park,  to  com- 
.nemorate  Ins  name,   and   character,  and   services. '  WiUirE 
Dodge  has  been  thus  commemorated  in  New  York,  and  George 
Peabody  in   London.     It  is  fitting  that  John  Welsh  should  b 
e^embere     i„  the  same  way,  in  the  city  in  which  he  was  bo 
and  where  he  lived  and  died ;  and  upon  his  pedestal,  the  words  of 

Seest  thou  a  man  diligent  in  his  business?  he  shall  stand  before 
kings ;  he  shall  not  stand  before  obscure  men." 


